In 1950 they came near. Despite Jasu Patel’s brilliant effort they failed to beat Holkar, who were the finalists. Chandu Sarwate scored a superb double ton for Holkar to seal the hopes of Gujarat.
And today on the auspicious day of Sankranti only because of captain Parthiv Patel’s magnificent batting, Gujarat’s dream of winning the coveted Ranji Trophy title came true finally at the Holkar stadium, Indore. They chased the highest fourth innings total in Ranji Trophy that too against the evergreen Mumbai, with Patel finally getting out for 143.
Sharad Thaku, Sandhu and Nayar had to sweat out today and all their efforts were futile as Gujarat outplayed Mumbai in all departments to win by five wickets on the final day.
Priyanka Panchal, Samil Gohel and Juneja have also played a key role in Gujarat lifting the trophy with their consistent performances right through the season, while Japrit Bumrah who had to miss this match and RP Singh bowled their hearts out with good support from Gaja.
So many records have been created and broken as well. While Panchal went onto score more than 1000 runs, earlier in the league matches, Samit Gohel carried his bat through with a record-breaking triple ton 357 not out. The previous highest score by an opener who carried his bat in first-class history stood on Bobby Abel, who had achieved this for Surrey against Somerset way back in 1899. At Jaipur Gohel toyed with the Odhisha attack. Prior to this the highest by an Indian who carried his bat was Dheeraj Jadhav, who made an unbeaten 260 for India A against Kenya in 2004.
In 2007/2008, Gujarat won their maiden Ranji Trophy Plate League title, overcoming Railways. And they also won the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy in 2012/13 when they defeated Punjab in the final by four wickets.
And today noone could stop them from winning the maiden Ranji trophy title, which every team dreams of.
India’s one of finest cricketers Y Venugopala Rao, who also played for Gujarat for four years was the first man to congratulate. In a telephonic talk wit the Greattelangaana.com Venu said, “I wholeheartedly congratulate the Gujarat team. I wish I was a part of the team as I played for them for four years. I really enjoyed my stint with them. I was always impressed with their total professional approach. I appreciate Parthiv and his team members on this success. Parthiv always used to say that we have won Syed Mustaq Ali and one day we should win this coveted Ranji title. And today they achieved it that too beating Mumbai. I also feel happy that during my stint they felt I lived upto their expectations as we made it to the elite – that was their first target. But always don’t forget that it’s team effort and this year they have shown good consistency, thanks to some fine performances from Panchal, Gohel, RP and Bumhrah. I am sure this win will lift their spirrts and hope they will achieve many more in the future. I wish them all good luck”.
By Sudheer Mahavadi – DD Commentator
